Around the World's Markets: Frankfurt

REVIVED SPECULATION of a merger between two of Germany's largest banks raised hopes of further consolidation and drove the stock market higher. The DAX 30 closed up 0.91 per cent at 5,301.98.

Shares in Dresdner Bank and Deutsche Bank both gained around 5 per cent on a German magazine report quoting a senior Deutsche executive as saying the banks had held high level talks. A Deutsche spokesman later said the bank had been in preliminary talks with several banks.